Victory keeps Islanders in playoff race

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Newark, N.J. • With a little more than three weeks left in the lockout-shortened regular season, the New York Islanders are in an unexpected position  fighting for their first playoff berth since 2006-07.

The Islanders took another step toward the postseason Monday night as Frans Nielsen set up two early goals and Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves in a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

It was the Islanders' fourth win in five games and kept them tied with the New York Rangers in the fight for the eighth and last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with 37 points, just two points behind the seventh-place Devils.

New Jersey and the Isles have 12 games remaining, one less than the Rangers, who beat Winnipeg 4-2 Monday.

"It's fun right now," said Nielsen, who set up goals by Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic in the opening 7:14. "Everybody is excited. We just go out there, play our game and play hard, and we're getting the results right now. We just have to keep it going. We have a big game tomorrow at home. It's exciting. There is a good feeling in here."

Trades ramp up

The Calgary Flames traded defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues on Monday night. In return, the Flames got a first-round pick and two prospects  defenseman Mark Cundari and goaltender Reto Berra. Bouwmeester joined Calgary in 2009 after being drafted third overall by the Florida Panthers in 2002.

Veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr dropped his no-trade clause to allow the Buffalo Sabres to deal him to the Los Angeles Kings, where he'll be reunited with his former coach, Darryl Sutter. In exchange, the Sabres acquired the Kings' second-round picks in 2014 and 2015.

The NHL trade deadline is 1 p.m. MDT on Wednesday. EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Pittsburgh 36 28 8 0 56 123 84

New Jersey 36 15 12 9 39 89 100

N.Y. Rangers 35 17 15 3 37 82 86

N.Y. Islanders 36 17 16 3 37 103 113

Philadelphia 35 15 17 3 33 95 108

Northeast Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Montreal 35 23 7 5 51 111 84

Boston 34 22 8 4 48 97 75

Ottawa 35 19 10 6 44 89 76

Toronto 36 20 12 4 44 112 100

Buffalo 36 13 17 6 32 94 113

Southeast Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Winnipeg 37 18 17 2 38 91 110

Carolina 34 16 16 2 34 93 101

Washington 35 16 17 2 34 102 101

Tampa Bay 34 15 18 1 31 110 103

Florida 36 11 19 6 28 88 125

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Chicago 35 27 5 3 57 119 76

Detroit 36 18 13 5 41 94 94

St. Louis 34 18 14 2 38 98 94

Columbus 36 15 14 7 37 87 97

Nashville 36 14 14 8 36 89 99

Northwest Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Minnesota 35 21 12 2 44 98 90

Vancouver 36 19 11 6 44 94 93

Edmonton 35 15 13 7 37 91 96

Calgary 34 13 17 4 30 94 118

Colorado 35 12 19 4 28 86 111

Pacific Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Anaheim 36 24 7 5 53 111 90

Los Angeles 35 20 12 3 43 103 88

San Jose 35 18 11 6 42 88 86

Dallas 35 16 16 3 35 94 107

Phoenix 35 14 15 6 34 94 101

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

Monday's Games

Chicago 3, Nashville 2, SO

N.Y. Islanders 3, New Jersey 1

N.Y. Rangers 4, Winnipeg 2

Montreal 4, Carolina 1

Detroit 3, Colorado 2

St. Louis 4, Minnesota 1

Anaheim 4, Dallas 0

Edmonton 4, Calgary 1

San Jose 3, Vancouver 2

Tuesday's Games

Ottawa at Boston, 5 p.m.

Winnipeg at N.Y. Islanders, 5 p.m.

Washington at Carolina, 5 p.m.

Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m.

Florida at Tampa Bay, 5:30 p.m.

Colorado at Nashville, 6 p.m.

Los Angeles at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Share This Article

USER COMMENTS

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account. See more about comments here.